Draco hurried through the castle as quickly as he could while still staying quiet – while he was a prefect and therefore allowed to be out past curfew, it was late enough that even rounds were almost over, and he wasn't on the patrol schedule that night anyway. If he happened to run into Filch, he'd be done for – the grumpy old caretaker knew that schedule better than almost anyone. Landing himself in detention was definitely not on Draco's agenda for the evening, and so he stuck to the shadows and chose his routes carefully.
"Bugger," Draco swore under his breath as he pushed back a tapestry at the top of a staircase and found himself in a completely different corridor than he'd expected. Rowena Ravenclaw must've had a strange sense of humor, he thought as he took a moment to reorient himself – the changing floor plan was her idea, after all, and clearly this was one of those staircases that thought it funny to suddenly lead somewhere different on certain days of the week. Luckily, Draco soon recognized the statue of Boris the Bewildered, which put him in the same corridor as the prefects' bathroom, and set off towards another staircase which, barring any further tricks on the castle's part, would take him straight to the seventh floor.
Draco reached the hidden entrance to Gryffindor Tower less than ten minutes later without further incident. Dumbledore hadn't given him the password, but it didn't matter – he'd barely been there thirty seconds when the Fat Lady's portrait swung open, revealing Harry and Hermione.
"We got your message," Harry said almost unnecessarily. "What's going on?" Draco glanced around to make sure they really were alone.
"Dumbledore reckons he knows where the locket is," he finally said, careful to keep his voice low just in case.
"Really?" Hermione gasped interestedly. "Where?"
"Malfoy Manor." Draco quickly explained all that had happened in his meeting with the headmaster, including Dumbledore's thoughts on why he, Draco, had to come along as well.
"He wants me to bring your invisibility cloak – he'd most likely have to explain why he was taking a student off-grounds after curfew if we ran into anyone, but if I'm hidden, no one will question him leaving alone."
"I suppose it would make sense that your house carries certain family-specific enchantments," Hermione said with a slow nod. "But…why tonight? These…um…object retrievals are bound to be quite dangerous; wouldn't it be better to wait until term's over and you can plan it a little better?"
"You'd think so – maybe he wants to get it over with?" Draco shrugged. "Do any of us really understand how Dumbledore thinks?"
"Fair point," Harry said with a slight snort. "If he wants to go tonight, he wants to go tonight. But I have a bad feeling about it – remember what Trelawney said? What if whatever's going to happen happens while you're gone?"
"If anything happens at all, it almost has to happen while they're gone – it's barely two hours to midnight," Hermione pointed out after a quick glance at her watch.
"Exactly. If something bad happens, we're the only ones who know where Dumbledore is going to be – if something bad happens, how will the Order get in touch with him?" Harry asked.
"We do all have our charmed coins," Draco reminded him, tugging gently on the little bronze Knut looped onto his necklace.
"And of course the Order knows how to communicate via Patronus as well," Hermione added.
"That's all true, I just…I'll feel better when tomorrow comes," Harry said.
"Harry, why don't we just wait up 'til Draco and Dumbledore get back?" Hermione suggested. "We can just watch the map for their return."
"We might be gone a while, Lotte," Draco cautioned. "I have no idea what kind of enchantments we'll be facing, or how long it'll take to break through them."
"Neither of us will be able to sleep until you get back, Dragon – we'll be too anxious to know you've returned safely, and then to hear your story afterwards," Hermione said. "Even if you don't make it back until tomorrow morning, we'll have no trouble staying up."
"Well, I suppose if that's what you want to do…" Draco checked his own watch. "I'd better get going – Dumbledore wants me back in his office by ten. Harry, can you go grab the cloak?"
"Yeah, sure – I'll be back in a minute." Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady and disappeared into Gryffindor Tower.
"Still taking good care of her, young man?" the Fat Lady asked, her gaze fixed on Draco. Draco nodded firmly.
"Yes, ma'am." The Fat Lady smiled.
"Good lad. I don't know what you're getting up to tonight, but I've heard the tales. We're facing dark times ahead, aren't we, and it's good to see that there's still hope and love in the world."
"I didn't know you were on a conversational basis with the Fat Lady," Hermione murmured so only Draco could hear her. Draco chuckled softly.
"We had a little bit of a chat after I left you here the night of the Yule Ball," he admitted. "She told me I'd best take care of you because you were a special girl – and she was most definitely right." Though the corridor was dim, Draco could still see the pretty blush that spread across Hermione's cheeks.
"Here we are," Harry said as he rejoined them a moment later. He held out the bundle of silvery cloth in his arms for his brother to take.
"I need to go," Draco said again as he accepted the cloak. "I'll let you know as soon as I get back."
"You'd better – we'll be waiting," Harry replied. The trio exchanged tight embraces, and Draco kissed Hermione swiftly before stepping back. Green, brown, and grey eyes alike sparkled with a fierce intensity – they'd have been lying if they'd said they weren't afraid, but they were also eager to see the task to its completion. The sooner they destroyed the Horcruxes, the better.
"Be safe," Harry said.
"You too – I'll see you soon." With one last nod, Draco ducked under the invisibility cloak and hurried back down the corridor, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.
"This is it – it's really happening," Hermione said softly. Harry nodded.
"Yeah. Bit weird, really…" Neither really knew what to say beyond that, and so they retreated into the common room, both mentally preparing themselves for a long and sleepless night.
"Ah – right on time, Mr. Black," Dumbledore said as Draco reappeared inside his office. "Very good. If you'll please put on that cloak and follow me."
The walk through the castle was quiet – the only person they passed between the headmaster's office and the entrance hall was Professor Flitwick, who greeted Dumbledore in his usual chipper fashion before continuing on his way. The grounds were equally silent, the lake still and only the occasional bird call sounding from the Forbidden Forest – even the massive front gates made no sound as they swung forward, though Dumbledore did stop once they'd passed through to murmur a few spells that Draco presumed were protection wards or something of the sort.
"To Hogsmeade, then," Dumbledore said, striding purposefully down the path.
"Sir?" Draco asked. "Why Hogsmeade? The Manor's in Wiltshire."
"Cover story, my dear boy," Dumbledore said with a wink in the general direction of his invisible charge. "I'm off for a drink in the village, remember? We can Disapparate from the outskirts of the High Street."
Hogsmeade wasn't as silent as Hogwarts, but the late hour made for very few people out and about, and they reached the field at the far edge of the village without incident.
"Can you Apparate, Draco?" Dumbledore asked once they'd stopped walking and Draco had removed the cloak.
"No, sir," Draco replied with a shake of his head. "I took the course, but I wasn't yet seventeen when they offered the test, so I don't yet have a license."
"No matter. Apparating such a long distance is highly inadvisable until you're completely comfortable with the method anyway. Now, grab onto my arm, if you will." Draco did as requested and soon felt the slightly uncomfortable sensation of being squeezed through a tube that went along with Apparition. It lasted a bit longer than he was used to – no doubt due to the fact that they were crossing practically the entire bloody United Kingdom in one jump – and when the sensation finally stopped, Draco opened his eyes to find himself standing in a deserted country lane. After another murmured spell, Dumbledore said, "This way," and off they went.
They'd been walking for about ten minutes when they reached the edge of the high wall that Draco recognized as that surrounding the manor grounds, and it wasn't long after that before they found themselves standing at the front gate. Just as they had when he'd visited the previous summer, the gates swung open at Draco's touch, and he was careful to shut them tightly behind him. The house loomed up in front of them, looking more than a bit creepy bathed in moonlight and the shadows of hovering clouds, and a light breeze ruffled the grass as they walked up the drive to the front door. Another touch of Draco's hand opened the front door, and a wave of Dumbledore's wand lit the torches in the front entryway.
"You have a lovely home, Mr. Black," Dumbledore remarked as he admired the sparkling chandelier overhead.
"Um…thank you," Draco said, a touch uncertainly. "Although I can't say I think of it as 'home,' even if it does belong to me."
"It is a bit hard to associate with a place you haven't intimately known for so long," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "And whether you choose to do so in the future is entirely up to you. Now, if you don't mind showing me to your drawing room…"
The drawing room was as beautiful as Draco remembered – plush carpeting, thick drapes drawn back to reveal the grounds, sumptuously upholstered furniture, and a fireplace to rival those in the house common rooms. As before, Dumbledore lit the torches, and he soon had a fire crackling merrily in the grate, popping as if it had been burning for hours.
"Best not forget to put that out before we leave," he said with a slight chuckle. He then began studying the room intently.
"Dobby said we're looking for a trapdoor beneath the rug?" He asked.
"Yes." Draco was already levitating furniture out of the way so as to be able to move said rug. When he tried to roll the rug aside, however, he found that he could only move it a few inches before meeting resistance.
"Ah…now I do believe that is our first clue that we are in the right place," Dumbledore said.
"Sir?"
"The rug – you cannot move it any further than that. I suspect that is our first line of defense against the Horcrux," Dumbledore said.
"How do we get past it?" Draco asked. "We need to be able to roll back the rug if we're going to access the trapdoor." Dumbledore stared at the rug for a long moment, muttering to himself.
"Ah…a crude method, but an effective one," he finally said. "I do believe the barrier wants payment." Before Draco could question him further, Dumbledore withdrew a short knife from within his robes and ran the blade across his palm. Bright red blood blossomed from the cut, and Dumbledore tipped his hand, allowing a few drops to fall onto the exposed backing of the carpet. The rug absorbed the offering, the bloodstains disappearing completely, and rolled back on its own to reveal the smooth expanse of stone flooring beneath.
"Voldemort would want to weaken anyone who attempted to retrieve his Horcruxes," Dumbledore explained calmly, now waving his wand over the floor. "A loss of blood would generally qualify…ah, yes, here we are." He stopped at a spot near the center of the newly exposed space and gestured for Draco to come forward. Draco frowned.
"There's nothing there, sir," he said.
"Ah, but I must respectfully correct you there, Mr. Black," Dumbledore assured him. With a wave of his wand, a beam of golden light drew the faint outline of a rectangle on the floor.
"Cleverly hidden, but nothing a few detection charms and a revealing spell can't fix," he said. "Now that you know where it is, you'll only need a revealing spell to find it again…but I've gone a bit off topic, now, haven't I? Our next step, of course, it to open the trapdoor, something which I suspect will require your assistance."
"I thought you said we were looking for something that didn't require a Malfoy hand to open?" Draco said, sounding confused. Dumbledore nodded.
"That is indeed what I thought at first, but now that we've seen how concealed this space is, I believe we'll need you to open it. Recall that Voldemort is quite skilled with the Unforgivable Curses and could therefore have easily commanded someone in your family to open it under the Imperius Curse – or I suspect a bit of actual Malfoy blood would do the trick as well, enabling him to access the hiding space without a second person present."
"So what do I need to do?" Draco asked.
"Just touch it, I think – the trapdoor itself seems devoid of curses and shouldn't harm you," Dumbledore replied. Draco looked doubtful, knowing full well what Voldemort was capable of, but then again, perhaps even he didn't have the power to enchant family-specific magical hiding spaces, and so Draco crouched down beside the still glowing outline and pressed his palm to the floor. There was a loud grating noise as the stone beneath Draco's fingers dropped into the floor an inch or so before sliding backwards, revealing an opening roughly a foot square. Inside was a small wooden chest engraved with runes, and Dumbledore crouched down beside Draco to examine it, aided by the light of his wand.
"Curious…do you take Ancient Runes, Draco?" he asked.
"Not anymore, no," Draco replied, somewhat regretfully. "Hermione's been showing me a bit from her own work every now and then, but I didn't score high enough on the O.W.L.s to continue this year."
"It's hard to tell without removing the box, but I think the runes continue onto its sides as well, and unless I'm very much mistaken, they tell us how to open the box," Dumbledore said. "Of course, we must first figure out how to disassemble the spells preventing us from removing the box from the trapdoor in the first place…"
"What spells are those?" Draco asked.
"Oh, there are several – and I'm sure once I remove the first few, more will reveal themselves," Dumbledore said almost nonchalantly. "I have no doubt this will be a difficult task. Stand back, please."
Draco did as Dumbledore requested and watched as his headmaster began waving his wand in a series of intricate movements, streams of multicolored light dancing around the edge of the trapdoor opening so fluidly that they looked to be in water. Slowly, the lights began to disappear, presumably as the enchantments associated with them broke, but before they could all dissipate, Dumbledore suddenly jerked his wand back and stopped.
"Draco, do you remember what I told you before we left tonight, about obeying my every order?" he said sharply.
"Yes," Draco said slowly, unsure where this was going.
"I need you to leave the room – immediately."
"Sir?"
"I don't think I need your help any further – the Malfoy part of the enchantment was just on the trapdoor – but one of these spells has the potential to explode, and I don't want you in here when it does." Draco didn't miss Dumbledore's use of 'when' instead of 'if', and it made him hesitate. Would the Horcrux really blow up someone attempting to steal it?
"Mr. Black, now!" Dumbledore said. "And do not come back into this room unless I tell you to, no matter what you hear – do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Draco had never heard Dumbledore speak so vehemently, and so he decided that the instructions must be of the utmost importance. He quickly exited the drawing room and shut the door, then cast a nifty little spell Hermione had found on the door so that he could both see and hear what Dumbledore was doing while staying true to his promise.
After mere minutes, Draco was beginning to regret casting that spell – yes, seeing and hearing was far better than just hearing, but the difficult scene before him was hard to watch. Dumbledore crouched over the box, his brow deeply furrowed and soaked with sweat as the trapdoor threw up defense after defense. Draco saw jets of light that looked like Stunners, clouds of smoke in a poisonous shade of green, and the hulking, terrifying figure of a Dementor – the latter was so powerful that even Dumbledore's Patronus, a giant phoenix, had trouble fighting it off. The most curious defense, however, was the specter of a young girl, no more than Draco's age by the looks of her, with a sweet, angelic face and long hair held back by a wide ribbon. Her dress was youthful and feminine but decidedly old fashioned, and Draco couldn't help but wonder who she was...and how Dumbledore knew her. For it was clear the instant the apparition appeared that Dumbledore recognized the girl – his eyes widened and his knees practically buckled as he struggled to maintain his grip on his wand, his ruined hand shaking as he pointed it at the girl.
"No…please, no…I didn't…I never meant…"
The headmaster's words were the most horrifying of all – in all his years at Hogwarts, in all his encounters with the older wizard, Draco had never heard Dumbledore employ such a pleading, almost heartbroken tone. Who was this girl?
After several long minutes of agonizing anticipation, during which Draco could see Dumbledore steadily weakening while the unknown girl merely smiled sweetly and occasionally shook her head, the girl suddenly vanished in a burst of bright light. Draco was forced to look away, scrunching his eyes shut against the sudden brightness, and when he finally looked back, he saw Dumbledore slumped on the floor in front of the trapdoor on his knees, shaking horribly. Draco had to force himself to stay put and not rush back into the room. Dumbledore didn't move for quite some time, and if Draco hadn't been able to see his trembling hands or see the tears on his face, he would've thought the headmaster was dead. Finally, however, Dumbledore reached into the trapdoor space, which emitted one final puff of smoke, this one purple, before removing the wooden box. A wave of his wand closed the trapdoor, and another flattened the rug and restored the furniture to its rightful places. Dumbledore then walked slowly to the drawing room door – Draco noticed immediately he was limping quite badly – and rejoined his young charge in the hall.
"We may return now, Draco," Dumbledore said, suddenly sounding very old indeed. "I have yet to translate all the runes on the box, but even if I had, I don't have the means to destroy the Horcrux here, so we shall return to the castle." He extinguished the torches and put out the fire before closing up the drawing room, and Draco removed the spell on the door, restoring it to its usual appearance.
"Can I help you at all, sir?" Draco asked hesitantly, not sure if his question was appropriate. Dumbledore merely nodded and accepted Draco's arm, and the two finished closing up the house. They were halfway down the drive when Draco's charmed coins heated, and he hastily withdrew his wand to read the message in the dim light:
Death Eaters at Hogwarts – come quickly!
"Professor, we-"
"I know," Dumbledore said quickly, briefly showing Draco his own Order coin before returning it to a pocket. "We must go, immediately." With a strength Draco didn't know was possible after what he'd just done, Dumbledore hurried down the driveway towards the gates, and as soon as Draco had locked them, they Apparated back to Hogsmeade. Even from the far end of the village, they could see the Dark Mark hovering high above the Astronomy tower and knew that the distress call was no joke.
"Albus…Albus!" a woman's voice called as a figure hurried towards them.
"My dear Rosmerta," Dumbledore replied as the figure came into view, though he kept his eyes on Hogwarts. "Have you a pair of brooms we could borrow? I'm afraid I must return to the castle as quickly as possible…"
"Yes, yes, of course," Madam Rosmerta replied, and she led them down the street to the Three Broomsticks, where she offered them two older but serviceable brooms.
"I shall repay you for my abrupt departure at my earliest convenience, Rosmerta," Dumbledore assured her. "Hurry, Draco!" Draco needed no further encouragement and mounted the offered broomstick, kicking off hard and following his headmaster back to the school as fast as the brooms would go. He felt the shifting wards as Dumbledore temporarily dismantled them so they could fly through, and he made for the Astronomy tower, bracing himself for what he might find. He was very relieved indeed to find the tower empty.
"Wand out, Draco, and put that cloak on," Dumbledore instructed. The tower was empty, yes, but they could hear the sounds of a fight going on downstairs, close enough that the duelers might actually be right outside the tower's entrance, and Draco knew that their opponents wouldn't be sticking with Stunners or trip jinxes.
"Reducto!" someone shouted. There was the sound of splintering wood and a large crash as someone screamed, and they heard footsteps racing towards them.
"Expelliarmus!"
From beneath the cloak, Draco saw a wand go flying over the battlements and out of sight, and he was horrified to realize that it was Dumbledore's. Of course, Dumbledore was powerful enough not to need a wand to perform magic, but he was also exceptionally weak after their excursion and subsequent hasty flight, and Draco doubted he could cast so much as a Lumos without help.
"Well, isn't this just sweet," a cold voice drawled, and Draco turned to see Theodore Nott standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face and the Dark Mark glinting off his expensive glasses as he tapped the tip of his wand against his open palm.
"Good evening, Mr. Nott," Dumbledore said pleasantly, though Draco could tell he was desperately trying to hide his feeble state. Nott snorted.
"Oh, I don't think you know how 'good' an evening it really is, headmaster," he sneered. "I've been waiting for this night for a long time. You see, tonight's the night we begin purging the school of Mudblood filth and all those pathetic individuals who support it, and what better place to start than at the top?" His eyes narrowed as he raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
Draco had to cover his mouth to stifle his gasp as the poisonous green light hit Dumbledore right in the chest and the headmaster crumpled to the ground, unquestionably dead. Nott smirked again and raised his wand to the sky.
"Morsmor-"
"Expelliarmus!"
This time, it was Nott's wand that went flying, straight into the waiting hand of a livid Harry Potter, who stood in the shadows on the far side of the tower. As soon as Harry cast the spell, Draco ripped off the invisibility cloak and joined his brother, both boys' wands raised on their classmate.
"Explain yourself," Harry hissed.
"Oh, how cute," Nott drawled. "Do I really have to explain myself to a bunch of foolish Gryffindors? Honestly, Draco, and here I thought you were finally doing your house proud this year."
"What do you mean?" Draco demanded. Nott laughed, the sound cold and cruel in the night.
"And here I thought you understood Slytherin politics…you really were Sorted into the wrong house. Did you really think I asked you for help in Charms just for the fun of it? Perhaps it was so in the beginning, but once I got the idea…"
"What idea?" Harry interrupted, raising his wand higher. Even in the darkness, they could see Nott roll his eyes.
"The Vanishing Cabinet, of course," he said, his tone suggesting he was speaking to a small child. "I'd been looking for ways to off Dumbledore since the start of first term, of course, but that useless lump Slughorn didn't deliver the poisoned mead like he was supposed to…but then Peeves dropped that Vanishing Cabinet after class, and I knew that was the key. All I had to do was figure out where McGonagall had put it, learn where its twin was, and work out how to fix it – which I did, all thanks to your fabulous tutoring, my friend." He directed this last bit at Draco, who froze in wide-eyed horror.
"You son of a bitch!" Harry shouted. Draco was so shocked by Nott's words that it took him several seconds to realize that Harry and Nott were gone, and he quickly took off after them, jumping down several steps at a time before finding himself in a war zone. Members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order battled half a dozen Death Eaters, and Draco nearly tripped over a body lying sprawled in the middle of the corridor, face down in a pool of blood – he had no idea who it was and didn't dare stop to check. Bits of the ceiling rained down as a stray hex hit, and Draco ducked to avoid a particularly large piece as he pursued Harry and Nott through the fray.
"Retreat!" Nott shouted as he ran. "The deed is done – retreat!" One of the Death Eaters cackled with glee and began to follow Nott, Harry and Draco still in hot pursuit and shooting hexes whenever they got the chance. Draco ignored the stitch in his side and followed the other two teenagers all the way out onto the grounds.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU SCUM!" Harry roared as Nott continued to run.
"I think not, Potter!" Nott called back. "You see, I really don't want to be late for my initiation ceremony – that skull and snake will look quite pretty on my arm, don't you think? Let's see how 'ordered' your precious Order is now that their leader is dead!" Harry let out another roar of frustration and dove through the gates after Nott, but it was too late – one of the other Death Eaters had already grabbed Nott and Disapparated. Harry was too busy shouting to notice the cloaked figure behind him, but Draco saw and nearly tripped in his haste to warn his brother.
"HARRY!" he shouted. "WATCH OUT!" Harry turned and ducked, but the figure grabbed him by the arm, and soon they too were gone.
"NO!" Draco cried. He dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way of the remaining Death Eaters, who Disapparated with a series of loud 'pops', then rushed to the gates and frantically searched for any trace of his brother. When he came up with nothing, Draco fell to his knees again, this time unable to move as he began shaking uncontrollably.
"Which I did, all thanks to your fabulous tutoring, my friend…"
Draco barely noticed when someone crouched beside him, hauled him to his feet, and began helping him back to the castle. He barely registered his godfather's words as Snape tried to ask him what had happened. Try as he might, Draco couldn't get Nott's words out of his head, and he couldn't shake the fact that there might be some truth to them.
"Let's see how 'ordered' your precious Order is now that their leader is dead!"
Yes, Dumbledore was dead, Harry had just been taken somewhere and was probably in serious trouble, the bloody corridors meant others had been badly injured or killed…and it was all Draco's fault.
A/N: Well then. What did we think of that...
Thank you for the follows/faves/reviews, & for reading! Just a few more chapters of part 6, & then we're on to part 7 - hope you'll all stick around!
JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)